


Acceptance

by Hog_Draconis



Category: Bug Fables (Video Game)
Genre: ...Kinda, Acceptance, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Backstory, Body Horror, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Leif's request spoilers, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Vi and Kabbu is great, supportive friends, wholesome??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:49:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27200083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hog_Draconis/pseuds/Hog_Draconis
Summary: Spoiler Warning for Leif's request! (Leif's backstory)Leif finally finds the answers he's been looking for, after all this time...The thing is....They are kind of horrifying.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 63





	Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler Warning for Leif's request! Seriously, if you haven't played through it yet, do yourself a favor. Go do it.

The Zommoth prototype had been defeated. _Their_ sibling- 

_no, they_ thought desperately, viciously, _we have no siblings_

The _creature_ had been slain. and the recordings-

"We...We really did pass away in Snakemouth Den." And as _they_ uttered those damning words, _they_ truly realized the implication of what they had just witnessed. Leif… was dead. The cordyceps…

It was _them._

_They_ were the cordyceps.

The knowledge left them reeling. Could it really be true? was he really just a parasite, possessing someone else’s corpse?

Yes. _They_ knew it in themselves. It made sense. It was the horrible truth.

“Eh?” Vi said questioningly. “But you’re here with us!” 

_Vi, you don’t understand…_ and a wave of disgust rose up within themselves, for it was true, _they_ were here… in _Leif’s body._

“It’s not me, Leif. It really is… Us” 

And as _they_ spoke the horrible truth, the projector beside them flickered on once again, displaying a visual of _their_ true self, the writhing, disgusting fungus, the _parasite_ that inhabited Leif’s body, and _they_ told Vi and Kabbu the truth that they had come to know.

“I am also… a Zommoth prototype”

And as Vi and Kabbu fell speechless, _they_ continued to elaborate. “Muse, Elizant I, and everyone… They are people “Leif” held so dearly…”

And _they_ explained. _They,_ for _they_ were not _Leif_ , explained how _they_ had taken over Leif’s body. _They_ explained how _they_ had wanted it so badly, to be someone who cared about others and was cared about in return… that _they_ had started to _believe_ that _they_ were Leif, too…

The projection flickered away, once again hiding his true, horrible nature from the others. But, now they knew. And _they_ could feel it. Squirming inside him, no.. _They_ , squirming inside _Leif_ … What were _they_ now, anyways? A freak of nature, a parasite pretending to be a person? _They_ felt disgusted with themselves.

“It goes without saying, after everything we’ve seen, that this facility researched cordyceps” Kabbu began, “But everything we’ve found in here is cruel and heartless.”

“Uh, yeah.” Vi interjected, “But not you! You’re like, a pretty cool dude!”

“Am I?” _They_ responded, viciously voicing their scepticism at that statement. “Or was ‘Leif’ a cool dude?” 

They knew now, _they_ had never been Leif, even if _they_ had forced themselves to believe it, had genuinely _known_ with their entire self, that that was who they were.

_A lie._

It was all _a lie_. 

How were _they_ supposed to feel? Knowing that _they_ were… that. A failed experiment, a thing, a _parasite_ . _They_ wanted to die. Ironic, really, since the only reason _they_ were here in the first place was because _they_ had tried to survive, had _possessed someone else’s body._

_Disgusting._

“Er… I don’t really know…” Vi started, breaking them out of their own thoughts. “But you didn’t know us before, right? We still became good friends though.” Vi continued, “So uh, ‘you’ or ‘Leif’ ...why not both?”

Vi made it sound so simple. It was so… Vi. 

“....Are you seriously trying to make it that simple? That’s… so like you, Vi”

_They_ wanted to view it that way too. _They_ wanted it to be simple. _They_ wanted… to be. Leif, a person, not... 

“It’s true though, isn’t it! You’ve chosen to take Leif’s mantle!” Kabbu exclaimed, “So to us, you’re Leif anyways!”

Kabbu was probably trying to cheer _them_ up, like Kabbu always did. He was good at it, he was _a good person_ , but all _they_ could feel at such a statement now was anger and self-hatred and disgust, for they were _not_ _Leif_ , they could _never be Leif. They_ were disgusting for even _wanting_ to be him, to _steal_ his memories, his knowledge, his _life._

“Give me a break!” _They_ exclaimed angrily, “I am not Leif!”

And _they_ could feel _everything_ , all the anger, disgust and self-hatred over their own existence boil in _Leif’s body_ , and it made _them sick_ that that was even something _they_ experienced, that _they_ even _existed-_

“I am nothing but some… thing… something that thinks it is him…”

That was the truth. The naked truth for them to see, he wasn’t even a _person…_ Just a parasite. An Imposter, pretending, _unknowingly perhaps,_ but still just _pretending,_ to be something else.

Freak.

“We never knew Leif anyways, so it’s ok!” Vi shouted at _them_ , her simple view on the situation so _wrong_ , so not _right_ ….

“That’s messed up. What about his family..?” _They_ asked. And _they_ thought it was a good question. _Leif_ had a family, _Leif_ , whose body _they_ had _stolen_ and was currently parading through the world, the body that _wasn’t theirs._ That body had people it cared about, cherished...

“Do you still care for them? Do you… care about us?” Kabbu asked quietly.

“....” 

_They_ could not answer. _Their_ feelings were a complicated mess, a tangled knot in _Leif’s_ chest. Did they care for Leif’s family? _They_ had never _really_ interacted with them, bonded with them and loved them. It was all _Leif_ . _Leif,_ whose memories and feelings they had _stolen_ . Did _they_ truly care? Or was it all just Leif, in the end?

One thing they knew though. They did care about Kabbu and Vi. The team _they_ had been part of for so long, they were truly grateful for everything they had experienced with them. 

“...Well, yes. We’re very grateful for everything. And… it’s been fun.”

And it had. Truly, it had been great. _They_ supposed that was the one thing that was actually _theirs_ , in this whole, messed up situation.

“You don’t have to decide right now how you feel.” Kabbu responded, “Truth be told, this is an unbelievable scenario. But you’re our friend! It’s okay!”

“Yeah! It’s not like you were faking or anything!” Vi shot in.

They.. were they really this accepting? _They_ could not speak. It was difficult to comprehend. When _they_ had realized _their_ true nature, it had been difficult to accept the reality of the situation, but _they_ had _understood._

This was it, _they_ had thought. Their team had realized alongside _them,_ what _they_ were… An imposter, a pretender, a fake. _They_ had tricked them this entire time, pretended they were something they were not…

Who would want to be friends with some _thing_ like that? Who would want to be friends with...

_A parasite_

For that was the truth. _They_ were _a parasite_ , not a bug. Not a _person._

_A thing._

But Kabbu and Vi, somehow, even knowing what _they_ were, had somehow accepted _them_ anyways. It was unreal. 

_They_ almost couldn’t believe it, but….

It was _true._

“That’s right, we… never faked anything.”

And that was the truth. _They_ might have _believed_ that they were Leif at the time, but… The emotions were real. _They_ had bonded with Vi and Kabbu. _They_ had made friends, a team, _a family._

_They._

_They_ almost didn’t dare speak, as if a single sound could somehow break the precious hope that had blossomed forth inside themselves without _their_ consent. _They…_ had been accepted.

It felt too good to be true.

Vi.. and Kabbu… had found out _their_ true nature, had seen the disgusting _thing_ that they truly was, and yet…

Vi and Kabbu _accepted them._

Could they really be Leif? Could they _really_ , as Kabbu had said, ‘Take up Leif’s mantle?’

_Maybe.... They_ _could._

“Let’s go. We have a lot to think about, if we’re going to meet our family.” _They_ said, and they felt like they had never uttered a truer statement in their life. _Their family…_

“Take it easy, okay?” Vi said, a rare look of concern on her features.

“We’ll listen when you decide what to do.” Kabbu said supportingly, and _they_ felt a warm glow of happiness.

“Thank you. Let’s get out of here.” 

  
And as the team left Snakemouth Den, _They_ accepted _themselves._

**Author's Note:**

> I think Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is one of the greatest games I have ever played. I am not kidding, it is seriously that great.
> 
> And I know you think so too, since you're here! (If you somehow managed to fumble your way here without having played this game... I shouldn't even need to tell you what to do. This game is great. You're missing out, go play it!)
> 
> I really wanted to read some fic about my favorite bug characters.... Sadly, there aren't to many to read. So I made my own! Hope some of you guys found it enjoyable, haha.
> 
> ...And if you found some spelling or grammar errors, please tell me! English isn't my first language, and I strive to improve! :D


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